Over the past three months, the NIU community — including alumni and ‘communiversity’ members — have been engaged in an intensive process of discovery that has generated greater awareness of the depth of NIU resources, many of which are not fully recognized within our NIU community.

It is also apparent that we have, for some time, faced significant student recruitment and retention challenges that require us to make bold strategic, structural, cultural and financial adjustments. This clearly points to a need for prudent, yet urgent, change.

Creating and implementing solutions to these issues while developing a true shared vision involves a broad set of perspectives within and external to NIU. Toward that end, I am scheduling a series of four-hour workshops on 10 different days in October.

Each workshop will provide information on NIU performance and established priorities and goals; align participants from across the university toward a common purpose; and assist in the formation of professional relationships across disciplines, job types and cultures. Our goal is to generate new ideas, to identify changes at NIU that can be achieved, and to encourage innovation and new ways of conducting the university’s business.

I'm asking campus leaders to identify people from each of our primary constituencies — students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members — to participate in these workshops. If you are interested in participating, please complete and submit this form by the end of the day tomorrow: Thursday, Sept. 26. Invitations with information on specific dates and times for the workshops will be sent out next week.

NIU gets $2.4 million to study ‘3D printing’
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has announced that NIU will receive $2.4 million to develop tools for process control and qualifying parts made with layer-by-layer additive-manufacturing processes.

University Women’s Club to meet Oct. 2
Members of the University Women’s Club of NIU are making plans for the Annual Fall Reception, scheduled from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, at the home of President Doug Baker and First Lady Dana Stover.

Honors students to cheer for football at Purdue
Each year, the University Honors Program sponsors trips during the fall and spring semesters for its students to explore and engage with a variety of opportunities in DeKalb and the Chicago area, and this year Honors is offering a much different experience: a trip to root for the NIU football team when it plays Saturday, Sept. 28, at Purdue University.

Volleyball sweeps Oakland, claims tournament
Led by 13 kills from junior MacKenzie Roddy and 10 from freshman Jenna Radtke, the Northern Illinois volleyball team capped a perfect Huskie Invitational with a 3-0 victory over Oakland on Saturday morning at Victor E. Court.

Huskie pride displayed at Gilbert Open House
DeKalb residents Dick (Mathematics, 1967) and Elli McLaughlin (Music, 1969) were among the nearly 150 people who came to campus for Saturday’s Gilbert Hall Open House as part of Huskie Pride Weekend.

Board of Trustees honors former chair
At its Sept. 19 business meeting, the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University recognized former chair Cherilyn G. Murer for her distinguished service to the board and the NIU community.